Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 5 can be found here.
We’d asked for a late wake-up this morning, and slept all the way until 6:30 am. Just as well, as the rain once again poured down throughout the night and into the morning.
All we wanted this morning was another brief hike and a canoe ride, so it ended up making no difference to us. We simply started at 8:30 am instead of 7:30 am, which gave us more time to linger over our omelettes and eggs Benedict:
Then back out on the water in time to catch the animals emerging from shelter to dry themselves in the hot, fresh Amazon air:
More stinky turkeys…
… And a caracara
It wasn’t long before we parked our canoe and began a scenic loop around one of La Selva’s more dense and remote trails.
We saw a golden orb weaver:
A flatworm:
A pita bush, which can be used to make fibres for fishing lines and hammocks:
A caterpillar, which you should not pet no matter how fuzzy it looks:
And much more:
The vines of this tree can be found by their distinctive smell – and can be twisted and turned to make rope for lashing roof fronds, or binding animals
We made it back to the dock after about an hour’s hike, then back at the resort by 10:30 am. It was the perfect mini-excursion.
We’d hoped to follow this up with a brief kayak trip but the rain had started up again, so we finally let the kids have a splash in the hot tub. The water has a mildly brown colour to it – we were told on arrival that it’s very difficult to get the iron out of the water.
Kids had to be a bit careful as there are two pipes into the tub – one hot and one cold – and the hot one was too warm to touch by the end. But the tub filled quickly and was plenty warm, so they very much enjoyed the little interlude.
We then decided to try kayaking once more, only for the rain to start up again. We decided to press on anyway, and it wasn’t long before reception had the kayaks cleaned up and ready to go. There were kids-sized paddles and life jackets for all.
We only did about a 20 minute loop, but the going was quite easy – you don’t need to paddle hard to cover quite a lot of ground. The kayaks felt stable and – apart from some water dripping down the paddle – we stayed mostly dry.
Back to our stateroom for a quick shower, and then off for lunch – this time an Amazon buffet of yuca fries, rice, catfish cooked in stoneleaf, and beef stroganoff (more like a beef stir fry). Very tasty.
I then tried my hand at piranha fishing without result, though my daughter managed to pull out two more. She has the patience for it, while I do not.
Back to the room for a brief nap, followed by a quick round of packing (and snacking!)
We needed to get to reception for 4:30 pm for one last canoe ride – but then the skies opened up once more:
No matter. We headed up to the lounge area in the restaurant so that the kids could have their first bit of screen time since we arrived while I surreptitiously hid one of my novels amidst the resort’s library.
We had a nice chat with some of the new arrivals, followed by some blog writing accompanied by a spectacular pina colada made with 7 year old El Dorado.
After a few hours of reading and relaxing, it was time to head down to reception for our pre-departure briefing where we learned (booo!) that we would be waking up 20 min earlier than usual at 4:45 am tomorrow to make our 10:20 am flight out of Coca.
(Though the farewell drink – a chilled Canelazo cocktail – did help to make up for it.)
They also laid out the procedure for getting our bags out – just leave them out on the porch before heading to breakfast – and how to tip the guides, if we’re so inclined.
Tipping recommendations are included at the bar, and amount to $15 / person / day for the naturalist, $10 / person / day for the indigenous guide, and $20 / person / day for the rest of the staff. This seemed reasonable enough to us, so that’s more or less what we went with. Thankfully, we have the option of tipping either via credit card or with cash, which is handy when your supply of US cash is limited.
Then it was time to head upstairs for dinner, where we had a delicious traditional potato lacro soup:
Followed by a pork tomahawk in pineapple sauce, which I felt was the best meal of the trip:
Finished off with red berry cheesecake with lemongrass coulis:
It was a spectacular and fascinating meal, during which our guide Ana described what it felt like to be stung by a bullet ant – she didn’t get the full dose, but even so she could feel the pain and numbness creeping up her arm, gathering in each joint. I’m grateful that none of us have experienced the same. And a good reminder to the kids that sometimes it’s better to stay on the path than set off into the unknown. (Cue Frozen II soundtrack earworm)
Ana also mentioned that 8 is usually the maximum group size – typically used for larger private groups, or times when one group might be arriving and another departing – while they prefer to keep it closer to 6 or fewer. Private guides are available for a surcharge with advance notice.
Sadly, all good things come to an end – and it was soon time to order one last round of caipirinhas, settle up our hefty-but-deserved bar bill, and once more head to bed.
4:45 am will be upon us before we know it.
Continue reading Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 7.